Confessions of a Female Sports Fan

More women describe themselves as sports fans than ever before. But something tells me my passion is just a little different.

I was watching a Cincinnati Reds baseball game in my labor and delivery room.

I started having contractions in the morning and we went to the hospital. By the time the first pitch was thrown that afternoon, my contractions were coming faster and I was in a lot of pain.

I was in one of those delivery rooms that are designed to feel like home, even though there’s a bunch of medical equipment and medical people coming in and out. There was a TV on the wall and we had it tuned to the Reds’ game since my husband and I are both fans.

When my husband made a comment about something that happened in the game just as I was about to get my epidural, the nurse just looked at him and said, “I don’t think she cares about that right now.” When I told her I did, she was completely shocked and had no idea what to say.

Did I mention the team went on a 9-game winning streak starting that day when my daughter was born? I’ll never forget it.

That was definitely not the first time I surprised anyone with my interest in sports. But it might have been the most memorable time.

I may have become a sports fan by default.

When I was growing up, we were a very active family. My parents, my sister, and I played frisbee and softball, tennis and mini golf, football and basketball together. We went to baseball and hockey games, and my sister and I played different sports in school. It was just a natural and fun part of our lives.

My dad has always liked watching sports, mostly football and basketball. So when I was younger, that’s what was on TV most weekends. (That was long before the days of ESPN and other cable and streaming services that allow for 24/7 access to sports.) If I wanted to hang out in the living room, then it was pretty hard not to pay at least a little attention to whatever game was on.

Eventually I became interested enough to try understanding the rules, and my dad explained things until I understood. I can still remember having a difficult time following the concept of “downs” in football. When I finally grasped it, the games made much more sense to me.

I may have surprised him a little by jumping into sports as much as I did. It got to a point where I knew much more than he did about football, basketball, and other sports that he didn’t really follow, like baseball and tennis.

But I appreciate that my parents kept us active and that my dad took the time to teach me about sports. Not every dad would make that connection with his daughter. But since he didn’t have a son, I’m sure he was happy that I took such an interest.

I’m not a sports fan just so I can connect with guys. But it does seem to help.

When I start talking about sports with a guy I don’t know, he usually seems unengaging at first, like he’s thinking I probably only know this one fact or have this one minor interest. But then if he tests me by delving further into a conversation, he seems quite surprised when I actually know what I’m talking about.

The only major sports I really have no knowledge or opinions of are hockey and golf.

Although I can tell you who some of the teams and players are, and if something interesting happened in the news recently in one of those sports, I can probably at least tell you about that.

But I don’t watch or talk about sports just to connect with guys. I thoroughly enjoy sports, and I can usually carry on a conversation when it comes to most sports. Some of the guys in my family or friend group have gotten so used to it that they actually ask me about something that they don’t know. I feel like my sports knowledge opens up a lot more areas of conversation that I can have with a more diverse group of people.

Being a sports fan once helped me get a job.

It was only the third job interview I ever had in my life. I had heard that it was helpful to make some sort of connection with the person interviewing you to increase your chances of getting the job. During the interview, I saw an autographed picture of a Washington Redskins player in the office, so I asked the guy who was interviewing me about it.

He said the Redskins were his favorite team and someone gave him the picture as a gift. Then he gave me the usual test, asking me my favorite team and some questions to see if I really knew what I was talking about.

He must have been satisfied with my answers because I got the job.

I started dating my husband because of a sports conversation.

That, and the fact that he liked music and I happened to work in a music store.

He stopped in often to buy CDs (before digital and streaming services) and I noticed he was wearing a Green Bay Packers jacket. I also knew who he was because he and I had attended the same elementary school, although he was three years older. I asked him a question about the Packers, and he seemed surprised. We talked a little about football and I reminded him who I was.

Later that evening, he called me and asked me out. That was nearly 30 years ago, and we have been married for 23. He still says he may never have asked me out if I didn’t start that conversation.

I don’t think I could be married to someone if he didn’t like sports.

In college I dated a guy who wasn’t a sports fan. We had other things in common, but it was difficult for me not to be able to talk about sports with him. When he wanted to do something on a Sunday afternoon, he didn’t understand my need to stay home and watch football. The relationship just wasn’t meant to be.

I appreciate that my husband gets it when I want to watch my favorite teams without interruptions, and that I more often than not plan our social schedule around their games. Because he feels the need to do that too.

We chose the month of February for our wedding because it was a light sports month.

At least that was part of the reason. Football was over, baseball hadn’t started, so my only major sports interest that could interfere was my beloved Indiana Hoosiers playing basketball. Luckily, they did not have a game scheduled for our wedding day. But I did watch one during our honeymoon.

I prefer watching my favorite teams alone.

A lot of people enjoy getting together to watch the Super Bowl, March Madness, or whatever big game may be going on. I like that too, in most cases. It’s fun to eat, drink, and socialize with friends while watching sports. But if it’s my favorite team playing, I’d rather watch it alone. Or at least at home with just my husband and daughter around. They know I want to focus on the game and they usually don’t interrupt.

I like to be able to watch every play, see every point scored, and hear everything the announcers are saying, and when I’m watching with a group, that’s pretty impossible. So if you’re ever around when I’m watching my favorite team, I apologize in advance. If I only talk to you during timeouts or halftime, please don’t take it personally.

I watch my favorite teams even if they’re losing. And I watch them until the bitter end.

No changing the channel or turning off the TV just because my team is losing. Most people I know will stop watching their favorite teams when they’re not winning because they just can’t take it. But not me. I want to watch every single minute, even if they’re getting crushed. And with some of the teams I like, that happens more often than not.

I think it’s because I want to see how they lose and why they lose, just as much as I want to see how and why they win. I also like to listen to the announcers to get as much information about the team, players, and coaches as I can. When a lopsided score makes for bad television ratings, the announcers will often talk about details they wouldn’t discuss if the game were close. It’s like they run out of “game things’ to talk about, and they want you to stick around to hear interesting backstories about the players. It works because I can’t stop watching.

I often record games to watch later if I’m going to miss them. But I still want to know the final score before I watch.

If you’re around my age, you might recall the original TV series Magnum P.I. Not the new reboot, but the one with Tom Selleck from the 1980s. Although the character lived in Hawaii, he was a Detroit Tigers fan. I remember at least one episode when Magnum recorded a Tigers game to watch later, and he kept asking everyone not to tell him what happened in the game so he could enjoy it as if he were watching it live.

Inevitably, the character of Higgins, who Magnum often butted heads with, told him what happened in the game and ruined it for him. But for me, knowing the final score before I watch the recording is something I purposely seek out rather than avoid.

I know that seems strange. If I were watching it live, I wouldn’t know the outcome. But somehow knowing whether my favorite team wins or loses before I watch helps me get into the proper mindset. I won’t get so stressed out if I already know, and I can just watch to see what happened.

And as you know from my previous point, I will still watch the game even if my team lost.

Most everything I read and wear has to do with sports.

The first section of the newspaper that I read each day is the sports page. Then I go on to get my local and world news. Take a look at my bookshelf or my library card history, and you will not see any fluffy romance novels, mysteries, or any type of fiction. What you will see is biographies of players and coaches. That is my favorite thing to read.

My wardrobe consists of a large number of T-shirts, sweatshirts, and jerseys of my favorite teams. Many of them I bought myself, but a lot have been gifts from other people who know what I like. I have actually had someone point out when I’m not wearing my team attire, almost as if they didn’t recognize me.

You know how men and women fight over the TV remote because he wants to watch “the game” but she wants to watch a movie? Yeah, that doesn’t happen in our house.

I’d rather watch practically any sporting event than a movie or sit-com or anything else. I watch way more sports than my husband does, although he watches plenty also. But when we do disagree about what to watch, I just go into the bedroom to watch “the game” and he stays in the living room to watch the “not game.” It’s great having more than one TV.

My daughter is NOT a sports fan, and that’s okay.

Our only child, the one that was on her way while I was watching the Reds in the delivery room, is not interested in sports. She does not play them, she does not watch them. Sometimes I have wondered if she really is our child. But truly, it’s okay with me. She has her own talents and interests, like cartooning and art, and she has a fantastic sense of humor and a kind heart.

She tried playing basketball, but was happier when they didn’t pass it to her than when they did. She took some tennis classes, and if pushed would probably say that is her favorite sport. She will even tolerate it on TV at times, but she doesn’t really want to play regularly. And she enjoys bocce at the lake during the summer. But as she often says, “I do not sport.” When she sees us getting stressed out over our teams because they’re playing poorly, she’ll say that’s why she’s glad she’s not a sports fan — it’s one less thing to get stressed about.

She is nice enough to tolerate us watching sports, and she even goes to baseball and football games with us occasionally, or to high school games with her friends. So it’s not like she’s completely against sports or anything.

Funny thing is, she’s a lefty and has natural ability at most sports she has tried. She’s just not interested in them. She’d rather take a walk or sit and draw. And that’s fine with me as long as she’s healthy and happy.

I’ll be a sports fan until I die. And probably even after, if I’m allowed.

I can’t imagine my life without sports. They’re something I enjoy and they’re just a part of who I am.

I also can’t imagine my afterlife without sports.

Because if seeing my favorite player sink a shot at the buzzer to win the game, watching my favorite team hit a home run in the bottom of the ninth for a walk-off victory, or having my perfectly placed serve skip off the line for an ace against my nemesis isn’t at least a slice of Heaven, then I don’t know what is.